COVER STORY The More Things
Despite expansion into several states and cracking the Top 5 largest contractors in the nation list, Petermann Bus Ltd. remains true to its employees, its customers and its core values
By Ryan Gray ABOUT TWO AND A HALF YEARS AGO, I SAT DOWN WITH PETE SETTLE, CO-OWNER AND PRESIDENT OF
PETERMANN LTD., TO DISCUSS HIS AND HIS BROTHER MIKE’S APPROACH TO THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTED SCHOOL BUS SERVICE. IT CENTERED AROUND TAKING CARE OF THEIR BUS DRIVERS AND ATTENDANTS LIKE THEY WERE FAMILY. SO, I WAS EAGER TO CATCH UP WITH THEM AFTER RECENT EVENTS HAD EXPANDED THE COMPANY FROM ITS ORIGINS IN CINCINNATI AND ABOUT TWO DOZEN SCHOOL DISTRICT CLIENTS IN SOUTHERN OHIO.
Change, and not the good kind, had certainly been
forced on the company that is now the nation’s fifth largest school bus contractor with operations now at 60 school districts in nine states and 3,700 employees, right? Tere could be no way Petermann still oper- ated in the same manner, could it? “Growth in the industry will have to be based
on conversion opportunities, which will continue to present themselves due to overall tight public
34 School Transportation News Magazine June 2010
dollars in school districts,” Settle said. “Te critical issue in conversion is the ability to manage the tran- sition seamlessly without disruption to the school community. Our goal has always been to make the decision for school districts to privatize an easy one to make, and a decision that is applauded by parents and teachers.” Look no further than Manor ISD just outside of Austin, Texas, off of Interstate 290. While not a brand
Stay the Same
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